Our Mission

The Mission of the Institute is to provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.

China's rise on the world's oceans is attracting wide attention and may ultimately restructure the global balance of power during the course of the 21st century. Many books have described this phenomenon and the significant strategic implications that flow from Beijing's rapid maritime development. However, the subject of whether and how to potentially integrate a stronger China into a global maritime security partnership has not been adequately explored. Delving into a variety of vital domains of contemporary maritime security, American and Chinese contributors to this edited volume illustrate that despite recent turbulence in U.S.-China military relations, substantial shared interests should enable extensive maritime security cooperation. But for professionals to structure cooperation effectively, they warn, Washington and Beijing must create sufficient political and institutional space.

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein are associate professors in the U.S. Naval War College's Strategic Research Department and founding members of its China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI). They co-edited China Goes to Sea.

Nan Li is an associate professor at CMSI.

Praise for China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power

“These essays bear close reading because they faithfully reflect the thinking and policies of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People’s liberation Army (PLA), which comprises all of china’s armed forces.”